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An
Interview with Shawn Pyfrom (Andrew Van de Kamp,
"Desperate Housewives")
23th January 2006
Imagine
being a teenager and landing a role on what turned out
to be one of the hottest shows on television -- how
would you handle all the attention? Speaking to
19-year-old actor, Shawn Pyfrom, you would think he's
just like your next door neighbor or the guy living down
the hall. Not only is Shawn a very likeable and
easygoing guy, he clearly hasn't let fame go to his head
or get in the way of what he would like to accomplish in
life. How did he get into acting? What is his ringtone?
Does he ever get shocked by any of the "Desperate
Housewives" scripts? And the question all the girls
want to know, does Shawn have a girlfriend? Get the
answer to those burning questions and learn more about
this up-and-coming actor.
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It is days
like today that make me want to pinch myself. Not only
do I get to watch and write about all my favorite
television shows, but I get to chat with some of the
most talented people in the business. "Desperate
Housewives" may be all about the women, but Shawn
Pyfrom had one of the funniest scenes this season, which
took place at the dinner table with Bree and George. To
this day, I still giggle when I think about that scene.
I found Shawn to be very intelligent, ambitious and just
generally a normal guy with a very bright future ahead
of him. I think we'll see great things from Shawn in the
coming years.
Q: How
did you get into acting?
Shawn: "My
parents got me in it when I was four years old, so I
didn't really have any reckoning moment where I was
like, this is what I want to do."
Q: What was your first role?
Shawn: "The first thing I did where I really
had lines was a show I did in Florida. It was a little
Disney show called 'Disney Sing Me a Story.'"
Q: If you hadn't gone into acting, what do you think
you would've done with your life?
Shawn: "I would've continued going to school.
I'd probably be in college right now and possibly going
for a business degree."
Q: How did you land the role on "Desperate
Housewives"?
Shawn: "There's no interesting story behind it,
I just went in for the role. I knew the casting
director, so he brought me right in to meet with the
director and Marc Cherry and they liked me and wanted me
in the part."
Q: Did you think the show was going to be this huge?
Shawn: "None of us had any expectations, we had
no idea it would be this big."
Q: You had to have been shocked by your character's
gay storyline.
Shawn: "I was. I was a little shocked, but I
wasn't really all that worried about it or anything. I
was actually really excited they were going to give me
that kind of depth in my role. I thought it added a
really interesting twist to it."
Q: How did you prepare for your gay love scenes?
Shawn: [laughs] "Uh, there were a lot of
nerves. I just went in and right before we were about to
shoot, Ryan Carnes, the guy who plays my love interest,
turned to me and he was like, 'The work-up to it is much
worse than the actual thing itself, so try not to worry
about it, try not to think about it.'"
Q: Have you ever picked up a script for
"Desperate Housewives" and thought, "Oh
my God, I can't believe I have to do that?"
Shawn: [laughs] "Quite a few times actually!
There have been a few scenes, like when I had to spit in
Marcia Cross's face. I was really nervous about that, I
didn't want to do it."
Q: Did you have to actually spit in her face?
Shawn: "Oh yeah -- take after take. She's
really the sweetest woman. She was really cool about it
and kept telling me I was holding back, she was really
awesome."
Q: What roles do you have coming up?
Shawn: "'The Shaggy Dog' (in theaters March 10,
2006) -- I have that and I did an indie film over the
summer break."
Q: If you could play any role in movie or television
history, what would it be?
Shawn: "It would probably be Mel Gibson's role
in 'Braveheart.' Of course, no one could do it as well
as Mel Gibson. That would be a phenomenal role to
play."
Q: Are there any actors you draw your experience
from?
Shawn: "I actually really learn a lot from
Marcia on the set, the way she prepares, the way she
acts."
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Shawn: "I plan on getting a house sometime
soon. I think I'm going to try to venture into
business."
And now for some easy questions....
Q:
Favorite Movie?
Shawn:
"'Braveheart.'"
Q: Favorite TV Shows?
Shawn: "I really, honestly enjoy watching our
show. Aside from that, 'Entourage.'"
Q: Favorite comfort food?
Shawn: "French Fries."
Q: Favorite video games?
Shawn: "I don't really play video games, but I
suppose if I had to choose one it would be old Mario.
Some of the new stuff is amazing, but some of the games
coming out are just way too complicated. Maybe they're
just trying to get people to use their minds more, which
is good."
Q: What do you do during down time on the set?
Shawn: "I paint. I paint canvases."
Q: Do you hang out with any of the actors from the
show?
Shawn: "I occasionally hang out with Joy
[Lauren], who plays my sister and sometimes I'll see
Cody [Kasch], who plays Zach."
Q: Do you have a girlfriend?
Shawn: "I do. I've had a girlfriend for two
years now."
Q: Do you have any animals?
Shawn: "I don't. I really want a dog, I've been
wanting one more and more every day. I just don't think
it would be fair to get a dog at this point because I
live in an apartment and I'm not around a lot."
Q: What's your ringtone?
Shawn: "It's one of those boring ringtones that
come with the phone. I have a European phone, so I'm not
able to download ringtones to it yet."
Q: What's on your iPod playlist right now?
Shawn: "It fluctuates. Recently I've been
listening to a lot of David Bowie."
Q: Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
Shawn: "Thank you for all your support and I
hope you continue to stay interested."
(c)
By Rachel Thomas, About.com
(Link
to Interview)
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